


Bad Elements

by JewellTrim



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, Cannibalism, Graphic Description of Corpses, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mutilation, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Out of Character, Pedophilia, Psychopath Ezra, References to Drugs, Serial Killers, Sociopath Chris, Sociopath Vin, Swearing, Vigilantism, reference to sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-12-03 15:54:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 18,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11535498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JewellTrim/pseuds/JewellTrim
Summary: What if the boys were all on the wrong side of the law? What if they acted more like vigilantes and killers? Possibly they are not all sane and most may not be in character. Pretty serious story. Warnings provide





	1. The Bounty Hunter/ The Assassin

**Author's Note:**

> So when Mary mentioned 'bad element' in the first episode and Chris said he was a bad element, it got me thinking how bad they truly could've been... at least in my eyes one night.

El Paso, Texas

            A beat-up truck drove down the dirt road under the scorching sun, kicking up dust as it went. The radio in the vehicle kept going out of focus. The station continued to pick up static to the annoyance of its listeners. The men up in the front fussed over the radio, hitting it, as if brute force would fix the problem. Sweat dribbled down their foreheads without the means to cool off by their air conditioner. The useless thing was broken, leaving its passengers to seek relief by manually rolling the windows down. Only hot air and dust blew in, making the men more irritable. None of them particularly wanted to be here, on this road, in a beat-up truck.

            The man riding shot gun held his weapon loosely in his hands. The need for it was mostly for later. His mouth worked ceaselessly as he chewed the tobacco in the side of his mouth. In the body of the truck, two men sat across from each other, also carrying weapons of their own. Between them were four boxes of cocaine. It amounted to roughly five thousand dollars in product which was to be transported to a buyer forty miles away in a major city. Neither of the men in the back said anything, trying to prevent more hot air from being created. They were sweating more than the people up front who had access to open windows. They only had the divider between the two compartments to receive air.

The driver kept his eyes fixed on the road as the crude lane began to curve, guiding the vehicle near the edge of a steep drop off.

About three thousand meters away, a man was laid out on his stomach with a sniper’s rifle pointed towards the truck. The baseball cap shielded blue eyes from the worse of the glare caused by the sun. A slender index finger rested near the trigger as he mentally calculated the distance with wind and the speed of the vehicle. A hot second passed, the sound of his steady breathing was the only sound before he considered his scope and put the cross hairs a little further ahead of the truck. Pulling the trigger, he watched through his scope as a few seconds passed before the truck was visible and the truck swerved sharply in the wrong direction. The vehicle plummeted off the cliff, the sound of it, not even audible from his position.

Sitting up, he disassembled his rifle and placed it back in its case. Snapping the case shut, he slung it over his shoulder. The bullet casing was picked up and the scene quickly swept for any signs of his being there. Climbing down the rock face he had ascended, took a little more time than going up. At the base of the rocks was a Kawaski ninja motorcycle waiting for him. Digging into his back pockets, he pulled out his bike gloves and made sure they were on properly before taking off his baseball cap and sticking it in one of his pockets. Grabbing his helmet, he made sure the shield was down as he got on the slick black vehicle and started the engine. He revved it up a couple times before driving off towards the main road.

_Target confirmed and killed. Returning now. Arrival time 2200._

Vin Tanner

Aka: The Bounty Hunter/ The Assassin


	2. The Hitman

Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

A drug deal was going down in an abandoned building near the edge of town. The overseers to the exchange were the two second in commands of the major drugs gangs. Each man had ten guns on their side for protection as the goods were presented for inspection and the money counted.

“Well it looks like everything is in order.” Said the man who was buying. Half of his face was covered in tattoos and his teeth were yellowed from smoking too much. The white of his eyes were no longer white, but pink from a night of drinking.

“If the boss is happy with the product then we may do business again soon.” The other man gave a toothy grin that showed rotting teeth as well. He was thinner than the other guy, but had a pudgy stomach. His suit was a couple sizes too big for his lanky body.

“Sounds good.”

As the items were collected to be put in the vehicles, another car pulled up. It was completely black with tinted windows. The rims of the car were spray painted black, to make it one solid shadow. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as the car stopped and was put in park. The engine stayed on and the person inside didn’t come out.

“Who’s this?”

“What, he ain’t with you?”

Both men signaled for their men to draw their weapons and aimed at the car. Bullets flew as the car was assaulted with gunfire. None of the bullets penetrated the car or its front window as if the window was made of bullet-proof glass. When they ceased fire, the men all waited to see what would happen next. A few minutes passed before a door to the car opened. Instead of it being the door to the driver’s side, it was the passenger’s door that opened. A man stepped out of the car, dressed entirely in black, like his car. He pushed the sides of the trench coat that he was wearing, back to reveal matching pistols. The man didn’t pause for even a second before pulling them out and beginning to shoot down each of the low-rank members. The second in commands ducked under what shelter they could find to survive. Once the bullets stopped coming and the sounds of someone reloading, did they nod to one another before standing up with their guns out. No one was there though except the dead bodies of their compatriots. They looked around, hearts beating fast in their chest.

“You know who we are don’t you? And who we work for?” called one of the men.

There was no reply and they kept searching the room.

“If it’s money you’re after, we can pay you double what you’re getting.” Said the other.

“You know what will happen otherwise. Even if you kill us, you’re just one man. You can’t possibly hope to take down our boss’ operations by yourself.”

The other man looked at his companion as if he were crazy. They were standing in a room where twenty dead bodies laid.

“I’m done playing games.” He huffed and stepped closer to the black car. “I’ll kill this sonofabitch and feed him to the dogs.”

A clicking noise behind him, made him stop in his tracks. He didn’t turn around, or rather he didn’t get a chance to turn around before a bullet shot him through his skull. The other guy was trying to salvage what he could of the meet and grabbed his drugs. He just got into the car, hoping that if he stayed low and got the hell out of there as quickly as possible, then he’d make it. As soon as he had started the car and looked up, he saw the man in black in front of his vehicle. Cold green eyes stared back at him. Swearing, he kept his head down and put his foot on the gas. The car roared to life, intending to run the hitman over. Instead, there was the sound of something landing on the hood of the car. When he thought he was safe, he looked up. The mistake he didn’t get the chance to regret. The mysterious man had jumped onto the hood of the car and just as he had looked up, the man pulled the trigger, shooting him right between the eyes.

The car crashed into the walls of the building, the man in black jumping off just in time. While the vehicle was left damaged behind him, he dusted himself off and checked the chambers of his guns before putting them away. A low beep made him check his pocket and pull out his phone.

**Report.**

He sighed and looked at the damage done. While he only cared about getting the drugs off the streets and the people who sold them, he knew that _he_ would be the one to be in trouble. Another lecture on self-control and the value of humanity was in the near future.

_Targets confirmed and killed. No clean up necessary. Returning now. Arrival time 2100._

Chris Larabee

Aka: The Hitman


	3. The Interrogator/ The Extractionist

Denver, Colorado

“Yes mother, I promise I’ll be there for the next wedding.” The man answered the person on the other end of the call before taking the last gulp of his amber colored drink. He set the glass down on the windowsill and turned it experimentally, watching the light play in the crystal, casting a rainbow. A decorative ring with a set jade gem was on the ring finger of his right hand. His fingernails perfectly manicured. “I currently have a guest over that I unfortunately cannot reschedule. I’ll be sure to send you a gift, and do send my regards to the groom. The usual pleasantries are well enough.” Pushing the end call button, he pocketed his phone and tugged on his clothes to make sure they were in place and ran a hand through his hair to slick back the short wavy locks. He turned from his window and made his way down to the basement of the building. The light which shone bright from the glass walls was a stark contrast to the almost pitch black corridors. Only a few hanging lights kept the darkness at bay. There were several rooms down in the basement, all with different purposes and equipment. The room towards the end of the hall was the one he stopped at and entered the passcode before opening the heavy door and going in. Inside the small room was a small cart carrying various knives and instruments he liked to use. In the center of the room was a chair that had straps attached to it. The chair was strategically placed over the drain.

Walking to the cart, he picked up the folder he had left lying there. He ignored the muffled sounds of the other person in the room. A few minutes passed as he read over the information a couple of times to be able to commit it to memory if he wanted to. Turning, he looked over to the man bound to the chair, the gag around his mouth was cutting into the sides and the look of pure fear made him smile a little.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Wallace. Where were we?” he wasn’t really talking for the point of looking for some kind of a response or to relieve some of the man’s fears. Sometimes the whole process was just a bit dull and if he had to hear someone talk, it was better for it to be himself instead of some low life like the man in front of him. Removing his rings, he placed them in his pockets before pulling on the elbow length gloves. He then grabbed his apron and slipped it on. The material covered the length of his body, protecting his clothes. He hated when his clothes were soiled by these men. Picking up his scalpel, he approached the man and played with the blade along the man’s face, making him bleed. The man screamed in pain against the gag, tears rolling down his cheeks, no doubt stinging his cuts.

“It says in your file that you raped seven little girls. You were supposed to be a friendly face they could depend on, but you raped your students.” His expression hardened as he stared at the man with cold eyes, “It would seem that you are a sick man, Mr. Wallace. Fortunately, I have a cure for every rapist and pedophile. That is of course castration.” Moving to the cart, he replaced his scalpel with his favorite blade. He inspected it to make sure it was sharp. “Truth be told, I’m not a biblical man, however, I know someone who is. He’s a bit of an old testament kind of gentleman. Did you know they said that if a part of you causes you to sin, it is better to cut that appendage off? Now that is new testament for you, but there are always exceptions.” The man was now screaming uncontrollably behind the gag, trying to break free of his bonds with no success. “Shall we begin then?”

 

_Job completed. Ready for cleanup._

Ezra Standish

Aka: The Interrogator/ The Extractionist


	4. Mr. Clean

Denver, Colorado

He sighed as he sent his last text message before reaching his destination. The bag he carried, dug into his shoulder with the weight if its contents. The back door was where he usually entered, but he had to ring the doorbell. Why the building had one for the back entrance, he would never know. Definitely not the owner’s idea, but probably someone who was used to using technology all the time. About five minutes passed before the door finally opened and the shorter man smiled up at him. After knowing him for almost a year, he still couldn’t tell which times his smiles were genuine and which were fake.

“I apologize ahead of time. I’m afraid I may have gotten carried away with this one. There was a new technique that I was attempting to test out.” The man said, walking his guest through the building.

“Do you go to a convention with other psychopaths or something to learn different ways to fillet a guy?”

“That would be interesting, but I’m sure there is no such thing. Plus, with _his_ intense supervision, we are strongly advised not to do anything that may bring attention to ourselves.”

“Why he cares is beyond me.”

“I’m sure he only cares about one of us, the rest only fall under his care by association. Not that I care one way or another.”

They made it into a room that had a man nearly split wide open, most of the blood seeping down the drain. The smell of a dead body was soon to start becoming more putrid so he’d need to hurry. It already made him disgusted. The small man was over at the cart, dismissing the both of them as he rifled through his things.

“Samuel Wallace. Age 34. He raped seven little girls who were in his class over a span of three years. Treatment for his illness was of course castration, but the rest of the procedure he ‘unfortunately’ did not survive.” He turned back to his compatriot and handed him the file he had assembled, “As always, you can send the offending member to the authorities. Not sure they will be able to charge it.”

Only nodding, he slipped the file in his bag, “I was unaware that you were assigned another ‘patient’.”

“Were you not? Must’ve been an oversight I’m sure.”

He frowned at the shorter man who was making little attempt to hide what he did, “You know the rules.”

“That I do, Mr. Jackson. However, pedophiles do not rest simply because I was given a restriction on how many of them I am allowed to kill per month.”

“No more self-assigning, Standish. I don’t have time to be cleaning extra.”

“Of course, I shall keep that in mind for the future. Shall I come back in three hours?”

“It’ll be clean by then. I’ll take the rest of the body out to the pig farm.” He sighed as he watched the other man leave.

“As always, your talents are irreplaceable, Mr. Jackson.” Smiled the man before slipping on his coat jacket and flashing a toothy grin which revealed a gold tooth before leaving the room.

_At cleanup site. Approx. three hours. Other assignments please be on standby._

Nathan Jackson

Aka: Mr. Clean


	5. Computer Whiz/ Anonymous

Denver, Colorado

His eyes ran across the screen as his fingers hammered on the keys of his keyboard. The site he was on was notorious for predators looking for victims. His usual task was to catfish, nothing to seem suspicious. Nothing overly pretty. Mostly a plain looking girl profile who was having self-esteem issues. It was always the thing the predators looked for to find vulnerable women they could take advantage of.

When his cellphone rang, he answered it without even looking away and jammed it between the space of his shoulder and ear, pinning it there so that he could keep both hands still going.

“You got Dunne.” He answered the caller automatically.

“JD, have you been talking to Standish?” asked the voice on the other end.

Slowing down, the young man gave his full attention to the speaker, “He asked me to keep him updated if there were any of his marks nearby.”

“Remember I give the orders, kid.  Else we’ll have a bunch of dead bodies piling up and we can’t get rid of the evidence fast enough.”

He winced at the realization of his mistake, “Sorry Buck. What should I tell him if he asks again?”

“I’m going to deal with the three of them tomorrow morning. Where’s Tanner?”

“Give me a sec.” He mumbled as he brought up another page and began looking up the person by the GPS on their phone. “El Paso, Texas. Was the location he last texted what he was doing. I got him heading back this way now.”

“Shit. Another one of them going off doing their own thing.”

“I thought you said he was going to El Paso?” he frowned, confused.

“I said maybe, but then I wasn’t going to do it because of the numbers. That and I can’t monitor what he’s doing all the way in Texas. His ass could get caught and I wouldn’t know about it till it’s too late.” There was a heavy sigh on the other end, “Where’s Chris?”

“Heading back as well. Sent text after completing his mission in New Mexico. Arrival time should be around the same as Vin’s.”

“Good, they’ll all head to the same place when they get back. I’ll deal with them then. No more feeding them cases. They’re all on a time out until I say otherwise.”

“Got it.”

The other end died and he set his phone back down. A ping from his computer notified him that he got a message from a potential predator. He shrugged and sent a reply. Even though he couldn’t send any of the others out to catch the sonofabitch, it didn’t mean he couldn’t pick them out for later.

JD Dunne

Aka: Computer Whiz/ Anonymous


	6. The Moral Overseer/ The Overseer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So a reader, boogieshoes, made a nice comment about the set up. The boys I felt like they were near bordering on vigilantism and so created this little slice of darkness. Anything goes in this universe. Even different leaders. Yep, you'll find who is boss over the seven in this chapter if you don't already know. I thought a change in leadership would be refreshing and it works pretty well.

Denver, Colorado

He wanted to grill those three sick bastard for once again going off on their own without his permission. After getting the full reports from JD, he was ready to blow a gasket. Damage control was always a bitch and if they got out of hand, this could very well come back to fall into their laps like the shit fest it was. It was like his rule of ‘one kill a month’ for each of them was thrown out the window. Reports from Nathan had Standish at three pedophiles and rapist kills. Larabee’s obvious trail-blazing through the drug cartel always left more bodies than he would like. He was up to twenty-two this month. Tanner’s kills were always the harder to account for because their deaths usually had bodies disappearing for some time. Tanner gave his estimate to be about four.

The FBI were now called in with every other law enforcement. One of which was the ATF, no doubt because Tanner and Larabee were taking marks that were a part of the drug cartels.

 

Ezra rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he made his way over to the door of his apartment. The man on the other side pushed pass him and made his way inside. A taller and much older man was also outside, along with Nathan and JD. They waited until he opened the door wider for them to come inside.

“Where are the others?” Growled the first man, his hands on his hips.

“And you suppose they are here why?” Ezra rose a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. I know the three of you sick bastards always end up in the same bed together.”

Ezra sighed and ran a hand through his unkempt hair, “Chris is on the couch. Vin is asleep on the balcony. I am, as always, touched that you care so much for our well-being.”

“The hell you do.” Buck snorted.

The shorter man gave a weak shrug before heading into the kitchen to put on some coffee.

“Tanner! Get your ass in here and on this couch! Larabee sit up and pay attention!” Buck bellowed.

A sleepy-eyed Vin entered the room from the balcony, looking none too pleased about his sleep being interrupted. Ezra handed him a cup of coffee and then another to Chris whose eyes were struggling to open. He then went back into the kitchen and brought his own out before settling down on a sofa. The others would have to go and get their own. Vin sat next to Chris, his worn undershirt and old basketball shorts being used as pajamas. Chris was fully dressed still except that his guns were removed along with their holsters and he wasn’t wearing his trench coat. The rest of the group settled down in chairs that were available while Buck stayed standing.

“I thought we had an agreement that you three wouldn’t go crazy and start a massacre.”

Ezra frowned, “I fail to see how three kills are now considered a massacre, or has the definition changed in the dictionary?”

“I only killed the one. Not my fault he had three more riding with him.” Vin crossed his arms over his chest.

“And Chris killed twenty-two yesterday.” Buck finished.

“Then shouldn’t only he be having his sleep interrupted and not the rest of us?” Vin muttered.

“You all killed twenty-nine people this month. That’s almost a kill per day. As of today, there will be no more kills until things settle down. Got it?”

“Surely you aren’t serious?” asked Ezra.

“Damn right I’m serious. If I hear anything remotely similar to one of your kills, I will stick Josiah on you.”

He received a grumbled affirmative from Vin, a glare from Chris and a sigh from Ezra.

“You all will stay here for the remainder of the month under Josiah’s supervision to ensure no more dead bodies surface.”

“The hell I’m going to stay here.” Chris growled.

“I ain’t about to get stuck here with these two for two weeks.” Vin spat in annoyance.

“Like you ever received an invitation to throw a sleepover at my apartment.” Ezra said, passed his limit of being hospitable, “I assume you will be financing then, Mr. Wilmington.”

“Enough money for the two weeks for the three of you to share amongst yourselves.”

 “They’ll kill each other before the first three days are over.” Nathan murmured under his breath.

“I don’t think they would.” JD shook his head in disagreement.

“Though they are so different. They actually get along pretty well and seem to rely on the others.” Josiah agreed.

“Who knew two sociopaths and a psychopath would get along so well.” Nathan shook his head in amazement.

Buck Wilmington

Aka: Moral Overseer/ The Overseer


	7. The History of the Trouble Making Trio

The three men had met by chance. All suffering from a mental disorder. Buck had been friends with Chris for years before he started seeing that his friend’s condition was beginning to get out of control. The need to keep his friend out of prison and from turning into a serial killer shown on news reports, turned into an arrangement. He would give information on people who deserved to die and release Chris to go and do his thing. It worked for some time before Chris became too reckless. At first, it looked like, after a year of doing this, that Chris was going to stop. After the chanced meeting Sarah, things looked like his friend was going to be normal again. That was until she was killed and Chris became more violent than before he met Sarah. The accidental meeting of the other two sick bastards was pure luck for Buck.

Vin was also on the run, having killed a couple of people. Buck saw how Chris seemed to gravitate toward the younger man and so he offered Vin protection. Vin proved to be more calm, not having the same aggression level as Chris, but if taunted, he wouldn’t hesitate to bash your head in with a coffee mug before going back to sipping his coffee from the same mug. Ezra was different from the other two. Since his condition was more leaning towards a psychopath, Buck was hesitant to let him stay with the others. However, Vin’s interest in him and Chris’s unspoken desire had kept Buck from kicking him out. Ezra was the sociable one of the three, often the spokesperson for them. While the others liked to go out and hunt their targets and release their rage in whatever form they chose, Ezra did not. He preferred them delivered like he was ordering room service. His process was slower, disturbingly enjoying the pain he caused on his victims. Buck noticed his disinterest in going after the drug cartel like Vin and Chris. The actual request Standish gave for pedophiles and rapist surprised Buck, but he didn’t argue.

Now that there were three of them now, it was hard to monitor what they were doing. They complained if they were prevented from taking on a mark, always asking when the next one was. When JD joined them, Buck was hesitant on letting him get involved. JD seemed so innocent, he didn’t want his view of the world tainted. JD however spoke his desire to help Buck. He explained that his mother was raped by her uncle when she was a teenager. After graduating college with a psychology major, he was eager to learn about Chris and the others as well as their victims. Josiah, an old friend was there alongside Buck when he was trying to figure out how best to help Chris. His agreement to help Wilmington, gave him a little more security on the sane half of the group. Nathan joined last, by chance, the forensic scientist had left his old job and had went to the same school as Josiah. While Sanchez was a grad student, Nathan was in undergrad.

With Nathan’s help, Buck was able to ease up on the reins he had on the three men, knowing that Nathan was there to clean up their mess. From there, their operation was built, Buck running point to make sure everything ran smoothly.

The curious case of the trouble-making trio was their strange connection. They always seemed to gravitate towards the other. While Buck’s statement of them, ‘ending up in the same bed’ was only meant ‘in the same place or together’, he was partially correct. Chris’s refusal to be with any woman since Sarah’s death left him pretty lonely. Having the others there, if only for a bit of release of pent up drives, was what kept Chris from going over the edge completely. Buck had walked in several times to find two or all three sleeping in the same bed. Sometimes spaced out as if not wanting to touch one another, other times curled tightly around the other man. Like two koalas hugging the same tree. In the morning, they’d act like nothing had happened so Buck did the same, though he looked over Chris to make sure there were no significant bruises. Their interest in one another could only last for so long before they wind up getting tired and try to kill their bed mate. They were after all, not completely sane. They were ordered to spend at least a half an hour talking to Josiah, once every two weeks. Not for the purpose of laying out their problems to the older man, because they never did that. It was mostly for Josiah to judge whether or not they should be allowed to go back out and take another mark. If they were still deemed possible to manage. If the situation progressed to a point where they were a danger to any of the others, then Buck would have no choice but to removed them from the group. Killing them seemed to harsh, that and he wasn’t sure how the others would handle it. Risking them coming back to seek revenge was always in the back of his mind if he had to be forced to remove one of them.

While Chris and Vin were more likely to stay just on the side of manageable. Ezra was a wild card. Anything that comes out of his mouth could be a lie. Their only hope was that that would never be the case that they’d have to remove him. He was entertaining to be around when he wasn’t slicing someone’s stomach open.

All that was left was to wait until a couple weeks passed before indulging the three.


	8. FBI and the ATF

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The FBI and Travis get on the trio's radar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Been busy, but hopefully I can sneak in a few more post without getting caught for not doing my summer classes ;)

Denver, Colorado

 

The ATF had had no luck in discovering who was behind the deaths of so many members of the drug cartels in the west and south west of the United States. There wasn’t a specific pattern to the kills so it was hard to find anything. There were no leads they could find. Whoever killed those men, did a good job of not leaving any traces behind. The only thing they had were the bullets they got from the dead bodies. They could only use that to find the models of the guns, but weren’t able to find anything else.

Some of the bullets were from military weapons, but now with the black market getting their hands on more of their weaponry, those guns were available for those who could afford it. Whoever the killer or killers were, they were highly trained according to their profiler. They were suspected to have military training. Though the deaths were different, ranging from sniper kills from probably far away to close combat and close- shot kills. The idea that the killer was a trained, possibly assassin or hitman was looking more of a possibility. Police also had a serial killer whose victims they would castrate and send their private parts to the police. Every single victim having raped someone. Always with the decapitated piece, there was a list of names on a typed up piece of paper of the victims of the rapist.

“A perverted vigilante.” Growled Henry Garber, chief of the FBI in Denver. He sat across the table of Director Orrin Travis. They had a table filled with images of the kills they had linked with the possible killers. “If this sick bastard knows so much, why doesn’t he just come forward with the information than killing and mutilating the bodies?”

Orrin never liked these cases with serial killers. This one especially never left anything of the body to find besides the victim’s private parts. DNA gave them the identity, but that was it. There wasn’t a way to trace where the victim last was before he was killed and the container it came in didn’t have any prints. He was glad he ate a couple hours ago. Travis shifted his gaze from the more disturbing ones to the ones of full dead bodies. Most were killed by bullets to the head and chest, but there were a few killed with knife wounds.

“There were no prints on any of these bodies?” he asked the police chief, “No loose hair or sweat that could be the killer’s?”

Henry shook his head, “I’m telling you, they’re professionals. Half of these shots are kill shots. A few a pressure points to immobilize, but it all points to a man who is a trained killer.”

“Has combat training, that’s for sure. Why the cartel though?”

“We think that this person may have some kind of quarrel with them. Possibly a loved one was killed by them.”

“A trained killer who we don’t have any information on killed these people?” Orrin lifted an eyebrow.

“You haven’t heard the good part yet. They were all determined to be killed by the same person. This person took out over twenty-two members of the drug cartel.”

“No affiliation to either groups?”

“None that I see. Both sides were killed every time for drug trades.”

“A hitman wouldn’t target the lower members like this if he was getting paid. Not unless he was looking for someone specific.”

“Well I doubt it is one person.” Henry pointed at the last set of pictures he had on file. They all looked like accidental deaths according to the crime scene. The only thing that proved it wasn’t an accident, was the bullet wound, always in a place where a person wouldn’t notice on first glance. “Our guess is ex-military. Takes days to locate these bodies and then a couple more to determine it wasn’t an accident. Whoever the shooter is, they always kill their targets from a great distance and in ways that could pass off as an accident.”

“This is the other one going after the drug cartels.” Travis nodded, “And you don’t think the two worked together?”

“I don’t see why they would. They do enough damage on their own, and from what we can tell, there aren’t any bullet casings to prove the other is there.”

“So, we got a three killers acting as vigilantes, going after the corrupt. When did this start? Who was the first killed?”

“Not really sure, they may have been killing before this, but the pattern in killings only started seven months ago. A couple kills a month. One of each kind, but last month it was almost thirty people dead.”

“They must be branching out now.” Orrin murmured.

“If you mean branching out by killing in different states, then they’ve already done that. Everyone is looking for these bastards. We need to catch them first since they started in Denver.”

“How do you suppose that with no leads? They seem to be getting some form of help. No cameras seem to be working whenever the kills take place and no DNA evidence is left at the scene to show that they were there. Do you know something I don’t Garber?”

“Our men our trying to see who hacked into the cameras, but so far they can’t trace the IP address.”

“Well find something. We can’t have these killers doing our jobs for us and make us look like fools.” Travis said as he got to his feet. “We have a couple weeks before they’re likely to kill again. We need to see if we can find their next target.”


	9. Stitches

The probation had been lifted and the three were back to doing their own things. Ezra had to wait about another two weeks before he was finally given his next ‘patient’. While he waited, he decided to come up with new ways to invoke pain on them. Since this man was to be his only patient for at least two weeks, he decided to take his time. A drawn-out torture was also a way to make them suffer.

Currently, he was practicing his needlework and sewing an embroidery pattern in his mark’s side. The man was strapped down to a table and gagged. Ezra had since tuned out the screaming and was trying to complete the final piece of the pattern when he heard someone walk into the room. He glanced up, figuring it was either Chris or Vin. He was surprised to see it was Chris.

“Mr. Larabee. Chris. You’re not in a habit of visiting my place of work. Tell me, how do you like my Eiffel Tower?”

Chris stepped closer to look at the stitching. “A little squashed to me.”

“Really? I had thought it was because of his large girth that made it appear that way.”

“Maybe you should pull the stitching out and start over?”

The man on the table screamed his rejection from behind the gag.

“I have time.” Ezra chuckled, stretching his back and looking up at Chris again, “Is it business or pleasure that brings you here? Pleasure I hope. I do love our heated, ‘discussions’.” He grinned at the last part.

Chris looked around the room with disinterest, playing with a few of the knives on the cart near the wall. “I see you’re making use of your nibble fingers today.”

“And you are as observant as always. I wouldn’t mind to use them for other means however.” Ezra then looked the blond over and noticed him favoring his side. “Problem?”

“Need you to use your skills to sew up a wound, and of course not tell Nathan.”

Ezra removed the latex gloves he was wearing which were covered in blood. He tossed them in the trash and ran a hand through his hair. “No, I don’t suppose the good doctor would appreciate us doing this. Shall we continue this conversation elsewhere perhaps?”

He led Chris upstairs where he had it almost set up like an office. The windows allowed the sun to shine through the room, making it appear brighter with the white walls. Ezra had Chris follow him to the balcony and had him lie on a lawn chair. Chris removed his coat and then his jacket and lastly his shirt. The hard abs were perfectly formed under tan skin. Blood was oozing from a wound in Chris’s side and Ezra got to work on cleaning and sewing it up.

“Might I inquire how you of all people got stabbed? I know reckless behavior is something that none of us care about, but how close did you have to be to allow them to get a poke at you?”

“It’s only a minor cut, not too deep. Guy surprised me from behind. Didn’t move quick enough to completely escape unharmed.”

“Well if this is more serious you will be answering to the doctor.” Ezra said sternly.

“You’re starting to sound like you actually care about me.” Chris grunted as he got dressed.

“I’m sure we all know that I am incapable of truly feeling anything for any of you.” Ezra said with a fake smile.

“That’s not the impression I got last night.” Chris smirked before walking towards the exit.

“Chris, you did get the knife he stabbed you with, correct?”

The blond stopped and looked back at the other man before pulling a knife out and setting it on the table.

“I’ll have Nathan take care of cleaning it. Can’t have your blood showing up at a crime scene.”

Chris didn’t say anything, but just walked out the door. Ezra slowly cleaned up the mess he made with tending to Chris’s wound before washing up and calling it a day for torture.


	10. Serial Killers

Vin slowly woke up from his sleep, his head barely on his pillow as he pushed himself up. The sound of his bed mate’s soft snores made him look over. He could only see the back of their head since they were facing the other way. On the other side of that person was another figure, facing towards him, but was also still asleep. Vin pushed the covers from off of himself and climbed out of the bed. He wasn’t wearing any clothes, always getting too hot with the others under the covers with him. The first thing he did was make his way to the bathroom to relieve his full bladder before coming back out and going to the kitchen for breakfast.

About another ten minutes passed before Chris came out of the bedroom, half-dressed and with his hair sticking up in different directions. Vin silently offered him a cup of coffee, which was received with a silent nod. Ezra came into the room after another hour had passed. Both men had finished their breakfast and were in a middle of a game of darts. The darts however had been long abandoned after growing bored with them. Vin and Chris were now having a competition with their throwing knives. Tanner was apparently winning, by the frustrated look on Chris’s face.

Ezra poured himself some coffee and grabbed what was left over from breakfast.

“If you two insist on crashing at my place so often, it would be nice if you started paying some bills.”

“And what job do you expect us to keep that we won’t get fired from?” Vin rose an eyebrow.

“Tanner, I will not continue to talk to you until you put on some article of clothing.”

“Why? You’ve seen me naked plenty of times. Never bothered you before.”

Chris tossed his knife towards the dart board but missed and hit the wall.

“Chris! My walls are not for target practice. Either you two use the darts or stop playing.”

“Make me.” Chris retorted.

Ezra walked back into the kitchen and picked up a knife from the counter and moved back over to where Chris was waiting.

“Never thought you would start so early in starting a fight. Usually you’d want to wait.”

“Don’t waste my time by talking.” Chris clipped.

Vin looked between the two before shaking his head, “If the two of you continue to fight like this every morning, one of you might actually kill the other. Buck won’t be happy.”

As if he had the power to summon the man, there was knock on the door. Vin turned to answer it, but the sound of blades hitting each other had him look back to the others who were finally beginning to fight.

Ezra was using both hands to keep Chris from over-powering him.

“Don’t underestimate me.” Ezra said through gritted teeth. He pushed back with all his might, making Chris take a few steps back.

“Ha, is that all you got?” Chris smirked.

“Guys, I think someone is at the door.” Vin tried to get their attention.

“I can do this all day. I just didn’t want you to feel inept.” Ezra huffed.

“I’m better at fighting with a blade than you.”

“Is that what you believe? I may not fight as much as the two of you, however, I know my way around a blade, and know all the points to aim for.”

“Hey!” Buck growled as he entered the room. He didn’t get closer, not wanting to accidentally get stabbed. “Put those knives down. What the hell are the two of you arguing about now?”

“Holes in walls.” Vin chuckled.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Buck sighed. “I can’t have one normal day with the three of you.”

“Apologies. But if it helps. I’m not involved in any of this.” Vin pointed out.

“Yeah, instead you’re butt naked. Put some damn clothes on.”

“Huh, why? It’s not like I’m parading outside.” Vin rose his eyebrows and put on an innocent face. He threw his hands up and interlaced them behind his head.

“Put some damn clothes on and stop letting everything hang out. I won’t care if Standish tries to make you into a eunuch.”

Vin gave a little snort before walking off to go and get dressed.

“Standish, Larabee, put down the knives. I have something important to talk about and I have no time for games.”

Chris stuck his knife back into its sheath while Ezra placed his knife in the sink. When Vin return did Buck finally begin.

“There’s been a situation that I’ve been made aware of by JD. There’s a new threat out there, taking innocent lives.”

“A serial killer?” Ezra grinned, “Finally a challenge.”

“As if you could handle a serial killer on your own.” Chris taunted.

Ezra rose an eyebrow, “You’d be surprise at what I could do. I just don’t exert myself to the tedious half.”

“Then let’s make a bet. See who can kill off the serial killer first.”

“I would, but do you even have any money to pay me when I win?”

“There’s no need to because there’s no way I’d lose to you.”

“Would you two shut the hell up and let me finish.” Buck barked.

Ezra and Chris took a seat on the couch and gave him their full attention.

“As far as JD was able to gather intel on these kills, it isn’t a serial killer. More like an organization who does hits.”

“So, what we do except they kill innocent people.” Ezra frowned.

“Look at that Ezra, gives you a fighting chance against me now.” Chris gave a deadly grin.

“I don’t need you to give me a handicap.”

            A vessel over Buck’s temple grew a little bigger in his irritation, “Would you listen—”

“Yes, yes. There’s an organization killing people. Next” Vin sighed, wanting to move on.

“It seems that the situation has progressed and right now, there is a chief director missing from the ATF.”

“And we care why?” Chris huffed.

“I’m not expecting you to care. Hell, I know better than to expect that from any of you. However, what degree you do care; about those people you keep from being victims by killing drug lords and rapist, give them the same level of care.”

“This will break our one-kill-a-month agreement.” Vin pointed out.

“Get rid of this new threat and you each get two.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like Christmas came early this year.”

“Just tells us who to go after, we’ll see they meet their end.” Chris grinned.

“I’ll have JD get the reports ready for the three of you to look at.” Buck grunted as he moved to leave. When he was gone, Chris got dressed and Vin left with him to go to their own place of residence.

Things were finally about to start getting interesting.


	11. Kidnapped

Travis was going to be damned if he was going to die by the hands of these sick bastards who had caught him on his way home from work. He had stopped at a traffic light when a car rear-ended him. The woman got out and started apologizing to him, when he got out to inspect the damage, he felt a bolt of electricity course through his body before he fell unconscious. Now he was sitting in a chair with his hands and feet bound separately. The room was pitch black and as far as he could tell, there were no windows. His head was still pounding from when he no doubt fell to the ground without anything to break his fall. Probably a nice size cut from the blood he felt on his forehead.

 _Well this is just perfect._ He thought to himself as he attempted to loosen the bonds around his wrist. No such luck. The ropes bit into his wrist, creating lovely rope burns.

Somehow, he needed to get control of the situation. Orrin had to find a way to either escape, contact someone, or have whoever had him, make a mistake.

Taking a deep breath, he began looking in the dark. He looked for anything that could give him a sense of where he was hidden. His ears were hit with nothingness as he tried to see if there were any clues through sound.

If only he hadn’t been out on the way here, he probably could’ve figured out where they had taken him. Now, he had an off sense of time, and a headache that wasn’t looking to go away any time soon.

Orrin then thought about his family. Would they know he was taken? Would the search party even know where to look? Lastly, would they make it in time.

 Travis could tell at least, that whoever had taken him were not the same killers he was chasing. The FBI had been buzzing about a new possible serial killer, but the pattern wasn’t like the others he was chasing. This killer was going after innocent people with no affiliation to drugs, weapons or rapist. This was a serial killer who only did senseless deaths. If this was the FBI’s serial killer, then he most likely had a day minimum before he died. That didn’t offer much time for him to try to escape, or for someone to come looking for him. By the time the ATF is told he is missing, they would be finding him in a body bag.

For some reason, he thought back to the vigilantes. He wondered what their payment was in all of this. There was a sense of justice in what they were doing, but as far as they have gathered on the information regarding the raped victims, no one approached them. In fact, they were surprised to hear that the person who raped them were dead. There were no money trails to follow or phone conversations and text to get. Emails were clean…

Travis frowned, forgetting about the other half, the rapist. The ones who preyed upon more than one person may have had some kind of system down. Ways to find their victims. Maybe that was how they were caught by the vigilante. He wondered where the rest of the evidence went. It wasn’t like the person ever was seen again. How did they get rid of the body? That was another thing he should’ve looked into.

Though worrying about that vigilante wasn’t his jurisdiction. He was supposed to worry about the other two. Trailing behind cars would’ve been easy enough. Knowing about certain spots could mean that had some informant on their side, or someone who knows something about technology and could tap into phones, emails and other things. Just like whoever turned off the traffic surveillance when it suited them.

Such an interesting case, and the vigilantes were definitely worth trying to capture. Travis wondered if he died, would anyone be able to find them? Would they know where to look?

Time passed and he dozed off for a little bit under an hour. When he woke up again, he didn’t see much of a difference in the room. It probably meant that it was early in the morning since he didn’t have dinner. He continued his work of trying to break out of the ropes. It was extremely slow and his wrist were already bleeding from his previous attempts.

The sound of heels clicking on stone floor made Travis stop moving. He listened as the person on the other side of the door unlocked several locks before opening the heavy door. A woman smiled down at him, looking at him as if he were a nice juicy piece of meat instead of a human.

“Don’t you fret, dear. Your time is almost here. Sal doesn’t particularly like older people, but I think they have that delicious tougher meat that makes one savor it more.” The woman said with a smile.

“So, you’re cannibals then.” Travis croaked out. He hadn’t had water in a while and his throat was incredibly dry for some reason.

“We don’t rightly like that crude word. It’s more like we partake of a higher-grade level of meat. Taking carnivores to a new level. It’s not as if it is a new phenomenon. People have been doing it for centuries. My family has been doing it for several generations.”

“We would’ve noticed if a dozen people have gone missing.” Travis grunted.

“Would you?” the woman said with a raise eyebrow. “There are plenty of ways to obtain a victim. It’s an art that we have mastered over the years.”

“So why kill now? If you’ve ‘mastered’ your art.”

“My husband, Sal is a serial killer. It’s more of a thrill to hunt the prey then have it delivered.” She stepped closer and looked at the rope burns on his wrist. “Really? What would you have done when you escaped your chair? There is no way out but the door and that is always sealed. Solid two-inch iron door. I’d hate to have more bones I’d have to pick out if you tried to break down the door.”

Turning around, she left the room, but not before giving Travis a smile. She locked the door once again, and he was alone.

So, he was to be eaten then. It wasn’t clear if they were going to drug him and eat him alive, or kill him first. Hopefully just kill him. Since it was up to them eating him, that meant around lunch time, he’d be prepared to be killed. He still needed to find a way out the door too.


	12. The Rescue

Buck paced behind JD as he worked on his computer. He was growing more and more anxious by the minute and he couldn’t help himself when he asked for the umpteenth time ‘if he had found anything’.

“I’ll tell you when I find something, Buck. Right now, you pressuring me isn’t going to help things go faster. “

“Sorry.” Buck murmured, running a hand through his hair.

“So why _do_ we care about saving this Travis guy?” asked JD, “Not that I’m saying we shouldn’t, but cops and agents get killed in the line of duty before. What’s different about him?”

“He’s a chief director. Do you know what kind of leverage we could use, having him owe us a favor?”

“Or, he could kill Chris and the others and possibly have the rest of us thrown in jail. It’s not exactly safe-proof. How are the others okay with this?”

“Ezra and Chris are already placing bets to see who kills the most.” Buck said dismissively.

“No, I was talking about Josiah and Nathan.”

“I’ll make sure they aren’t involved. You too. I don’t want you having to take the fall for any of this if it goes side-ways.”

“Hell, Buck. We knew what we were getting into when we signed on. We ain’t going to leave you and the boys now and definitely not if this goes bad.”

Buck rested a hand on JD’s shoulder and the younger man nodded confidently before going back to work.

After about another ten minutes he was able to create a map of where the car that had taken the chief director.

Pulling facial recognition software, he didn’t come up with anyone from the US. JD figured they weren’t from the country originally.

After printing out enough copies, Buck took them and placed them in his bag to take to the others. JD shut down his gear and ran to catch up.

“You don’t have to come. You know that, right?”

“I know, but I am.” JD smiled.

The three were called over to Vin’s place, since they were closer there then going to meet them at Ezra’s or Chris’s. JD called Nathan and Josiah to tell them what was happening. They would meet them on the way to Vin’s.

 

 

Chris and Ezra were the last to arrive. Chris at the door when Ezra pulled into the parking lot of Vin’s apartment complex.

 The place was much smaller than Ezra’s apartment with no real furniture. Pillows were used as seats and they all sat in a circle with their long legs folded Indian style.

Buck handed Chris, Vin and Ezra each a copy of the notes he had JD print out. The extra, he let Nathan and Josiah share.

“So about seventeen hours ago, Chief Director Orrin Travis was abducted by the serial killers who have a habit of killing them within twenty-four hours of killing them. Since he was taken last night around six, he probably doesn’t have much time if he is still alive.” Buck looked at his watch which read 10:35.

“And we know he’s at this location?” Josiah looked at the map printed out. There were a lot of woods. “How are we going to find him in time?”

“The only race there is going to be, is against time.” Buck looked at the three men he was addressing. “Vin will ride on ahead and get a location of the building and Chris will drive me and Ezra.”

“We’re coming too.” Nathan demanded, “You’re going to need someone to help Travis if he has any injuries and to clean up after the others. Josiah can help me carry him. JD can delete any evidence of us going up there.”

Buck really didn’t want to involved them, but as JD had said, they were all in this.

“You three will follow behind Chris’s car.” When he received a nod from them, he turned to Chris and Ezra. “Chris will go in first, Ezra. You and me will try and secure the director.”

“You can’t possibly be serious. Why must I help save—”

“Remember this is for two-kills a month. Buck _will_ bench you.” Chris said in a low voice that only Ezra could hear.

“I would be honored to save the director.” Ezra said with faked enthusiasm, throwing on a smile for good measure.

“Get your things, we head out now.” Buck ordered and the group got up and began the preparations to leave.

Vin, with his sniper’s rifle in its case on his back, hopped onto his motorcycle and took off first. Ezra slid into the front seat of Chris’s car, not even allowing Buck to argue for it. Buck climbed into the back while Chris used his stick shift to pull out onto the road. The Ford mustang purring for him as he pressed his foot on the gas pedal. Josiah drove JD and Nathan in his modest Toyota. Keeping Chris in their sights would be difficult because the man was a more aggressive driver, weaving through traffic.

“This is pretty exciting.” JD thought out loud, “I haven’t been out in the ‘field’ before.”

“Well it ain’t pretty, son. Whatever view you have of the boys may change after today.” Josiah warned.

“I know about their conditions, ‘siah. I know what to expect.”

“They’re killers, JD. Plain and simple. They get off on it sometimes if not most of the time. As much as I hate to dwell on it, we are enablers. We help them kill.” Nathan sighed.

“But only the bad guys who deserve it.”

“I think what Nathan is trying to say is that what we are doing is playing god. We are judge, jury, and executioner. More specifically; you are the judge, JD. Buck is the jury, and Chris, Vin and Ezra are the executioners. Nathan is the clean-up and I give free counseling to those who need it afterwards.”

“I’m the judge?” JD frowned in confusion.

“You go and judge the people who you deem worth killing. You pull out their skeletons from their closets and present it as evidence. Buck gives the go-ahead and the others execute.”

“What does that say about me then?”

“I can’t judge you, JD. We all judge. I have been guilty plenty of times before. Nathan too. What we do though, it prevents others from getting hurt and that’s a comforting thought I hold onto.”

JD stared out the window, thinking about their conversation. He wished they would go faster and save the director so that he could go home and have some time to think by himself.


	13. Secret Passages

Vin reached the area first. He left his motorcycle behind a few trees, visible enough for Chris to find when he arrived. There wasn’t a clear path that he could find, only and old dirt path. Traces of a car being through here made him search for more clues. He didn’t want to just follow the worn path, not wanting surprises. He needed to find higher ground. Creeping through the forest at a well enough distance from the path, he followed it to an old house. Tanner left markers for the others to follow his path before he found a good climbing tree.

Adjusting his case on his back, he found a couple of good foot holds and began to climb. He reached a spot in the tree where he got a decent enough view of the front of the building and could shoot from there. Balancing his case, he opened it up and quickly assembled his weapon. Hanging the case on a branch near him, Vin shifted on the limb he was on until he got in a comfortable position to shoot from. Using his scope, he couldn’t see anybody outside or any lights on in the building.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a text to Ezra.

**5 Klicks from building.**

**No signs of life.**

**A car has recently been here. Stay off road.**

 

Ezra looked at his messages and relayed them back to the others.

“You certain JD got the right place.” Asked Chris, “Not that I doubt him. It’s just, if this is truly important that we find this guy. We can’t afford to be wrong.”

“I’m confident in JD.”

Chris didn’t say anything but put his foot on the gas more and shifted gears.

 

 

They arrived about fifteen minutes after Vin had been up in his tree. Chris followed the markers and led the others to where Vin’s tree was. A low whistle from above got their attention.

“Anything?” asked Buck.

“Nothing. I can shift positions to the other side of the house.” He offered.

“No, watch the front in case they come out that way. We’ll make our way around. Text JD and tell them to wait before coming up.”

Vin nodded and the three set off closer to the house.

Chris, went first, followed by Ezra and Buck. Chris had his gun out, safety already off. He noted too considered the building abandoned and told Buck as much.

“Maybe he got it wrong, Buck. There’s no one inside from what I could see from the window.” Chris sighed.

“We’ll check inside before pulling out.”

Chris nodded and checked the front door to see if it was locked before opening it. Silence filled their ears as they looked around the room. There was a table standing on a rug and two chairs. Nothing else was in the room.

“Well I’d say this was a complete waste of time. Chris murmured. Ezra looked around the room, looking for clues while Buck dialed JD.

Chris sat on the edge of the table, the furniture moving slightly and his foot lifting the frayed end of the rug. His boot covered the crack so that it wasn’t visible.

 

 

 

Katniss was tired of waiting for her husband to get back. It was almost lunch, and while she normally waited for him to come and have the honor in killing their catch, she had to get lunch started. It would take a while to pull the meat off the bones and get rid of the more disgusting organs she didn’t like to eat. Entering the room, she saw that the old man had his head down. The ropes still looked like they were intact so she approached with a needle filled a drug that would keep him under until he probably bled to death.

She was just about to stick the needle in when she received a head butt right in the nose. She staggered back, clutching the throbbing part of her face.

Travis put all his strength into pulling his hands free and was rewarded by them coming out from the rope. He didn’t have time to worry about his knees since the woman had recovered enough to run up and jab him with the needle. Only half of it was injected before Travis was able to pull it out and it fell on the floor.

Katniss felt she better retreat until the drug kicked in. It was too dangerous to do anything for now.

Travis cursed out loud when he saw her flee and lock the door behind her. Not wasting anytime, he undid the ropes around his ankles. His hands trembled with fatigue and took him a couple of tries before he was free. Taking his time, Orrin got up and tried to think of what to do next. He had to find a way out of here, but also keep her from coming back with something to put him out permanently, like a gun. Moving his chair under the door handle, he propped it up to prevent it from opening from the outside. With any luck, it would work. The drug soon kicked in and he crossed the room to the far side barely before collapsing onto the ground.

 

Buck got off the phone with JD and looked at Chris and Ezra with disappointment, “We must’ve been late somehow.”

“Somehow indeed.” Ezra murmured.

Buck walked out of the building, making his way to Vin to tell him what was going on. Chris pushed himself off the table and again, repositioned the rug to reveal a bigger crack. The blond didn’t notice however and made his way to the door. Ezra however did and frowned. Stepping closer, he crouched down to inspect it. Chris noticed that Ezra wasn’t coming and turned to look at him.

“What is it?”

“Not sure.” Ezra murmured and pushed the table aside and then the rug. Under it was a trap door. He turned and smiled up at Chris, “This just probably leads to nowhere.”

“Shut up and open it already.” Chris huffed.

Ezra stood back up and pulled the metal-ring handle up to reveal an underground passage way.

“Best we tell Mr. Wilmington before we go in.”

“Buck!” Chris yelled after the man.

Ezra jerked his head towards Chris with a frown. “Are you seriously going to be that person who alerts everyone that we’re here? Really, I thought you had more sense than that.”

“They’ll be dead soon enough so it doesn’t matter.” Chris rolled his eyes and pulled his gun back out.

Buck ran back inside and he didn’t need to say anything before Chris went first down the hole and then Ezra and lastly himself.


	14. Good Samaritans

It was dark in the tunnel and Chris had to use the flashlight on his phone to see where he was going. It wasn’t high enough for Chris or Buck to stand up properly, but Ezra could. The width of the tunnel was about as wide as Josiah if not a couple of inches more. Roots stuck out from the sides and a wooden beam would have them sucking in their guts to squeeze pass.

“They seriously got him all the way down here?” Chris whispered.

“Not everyone is as tall as you and Mr. Wilmington.”

“They are carrying a body with them. It’s got to be difficult to maneuver him in here.” Buck pointed out.

“Won’t need to if they cut him into smaller pieces.” Ezra said dismissively. “Just putting it out there that these people didn’t really think in terms of the future.”

Chris shushed him when they got closer to the end. It took him a while to find an exit, and then a great deal of pushing to lift the heavy door up so he could see outside. Ezra was tempted to jab a finger in Chris’s side as he was left open with partially climbing the walls to see.

“Nothing out there.” He reported before pushing harder and pulling himself up. The room Chris found himself in looked similar to the one they had just left. This one however didn’t have the table and rug covering the floor trap door. It also had a fire lit in the fireplace. He listened for about a minute before signaling to the others it was clear. Buck climbed out easily enough with Ezra, who was shorter, having the hardest time. Once they were all up, Chris moved to look out the window. What he saw was a normal looking front yard among the woods. A garage was to the side and was empty. A woman was outside on a phone talking to someone. She had her back to the house, pacing every now and then. Buck told Chris to keep an eye on the door while he and Ezra explored the house. Buck was growing frustrated when he couldn’t find any evidence of there being a kidnapped person there. Ezra was busily brushing the dirt off his clothes to take notice.

“Would you please pay attention. You can worry about your clothes later, Standish.”

“Speaks a man who cares little for his own.” Ezra murmured before looking around the room himself. There were books that interested him, along with antiques that went back several decades. Continuing to another room, he looked for anything out of place. He thought about what he’d do and where he’d keep a hidden room.

Buck came into the room he had just finished clearing.

“Well?”

“He’s not here.”

“Damn.” Buck cursed under his breath.

“What I mean to say is, the victim is likely not in the house, therefore I’m guessing the victim is held somewhere in the garage.”

“The garage?”

“Yes. They are novices when it comes to this sort of thing. Usually a garage is used for their work place. Possibly the woman outside knows nothing about it and her husband is the serial killer. Women rarely go into old garages because men claim it as their sacred place.”

“What about the tunnel?” Chris asked.

Ezra shrugged, “Some places have secret passage ways. Don’t see how she hasn’t come across it. Also, she might be the one utilizing it more because of her stature.”

“So, what now? Do we just go outside or wait?” asked Chris impatiently.

“We can find a back window to exit and slip pass her.” Buck suggested.

Chris frowned as he continued to watch the woman, “That won’t be a problem. She’s heading into the garage.” He turned back to Ezra with a pointed look, “What’s that about women not going in garages?”

“I said rarely. There are exceptions.”

The three exited the house and made their way to the side of the garage. They stayed as quiet as they could and slipped in. It was empty.

“Do you think she saw us?” asked Buck in a whisper.

“Hardly.” Chris muttered and searched for a hidden door.

Towards the back, there was a tool box perfectly placed to hide it.

Buck kept it open while the other two went in first.

 

 

Travis opened his eyes, trying to get them to focus. He had heard the door trying to be opened and he needed to be ready to fight. The drug however was keeping him from moving. Signals from his brain to get his limbs moving did absolutely nothing. The banging became louder before the chair finally gave way. Orrin was able to shift his head towards the door and roll slightly on his side to see the woman step into the room.

“Seriously, there’s no reason to prolong the inevitable. I promise to make you into a lovely roast.”

“Roast this bitch.” Came a male voice and then a gun went off.

Travis’s vision was still blurred and he couldn’t make out much of the shapes, but he did see one shape fall to the ground.

“Room secured.” Came the voice again.

“Get the doctor down here.” Came another.

“Anything to escape this filthy room.” Drawled someone. One of the shapes stepped closer to him and he tried to push himself away.

“No worries, chief director. You’re safe now. Help is coming.”

“Who…who are you?”

“Who we are is not important.” Clipped the growling man who shot the woman. He was obviously still hovering over the body. Was she not dead?

“Today we are good Samaritans.” Came the friendlier voice.

That was answered by a snort from the other, “Do-gooders don’t expect something in return.”

“You want money then?”

“Spoken like a real ass. ‘Do we want money?’ We ain’t some charity case.”

“If you’re done, you can secure the area to make sure there aren’t any surprises.”

“What about her?”

“The cops can deal with her.”

 

Chris nodded and went to go find Ezra. When he didn’t see the man outside on the phone, he went back into the house. The trapdoor was open and he called inside.

“I’m here.” Came Ezra’s drawl.

Chris dropped down into the tunnel.

“Didn’t know you weren’t that lazy.”

“On the contrary, I’d prefer not to trapes through trenches. However, my phone is currently on data right now and I do not plan on wasting it on something as trivial as calling the others up.” Ezra sighed as he pushed himself pass one of the wooden beams and was slowly followed by Chris.

“You just want to escape from me pointing out that I have one kill to your none.”

“If you are following me for monetary purposes, then you have to reference the fact that the bet was called off by Mr. Wilmington. Considering you killed the _only_ possible target, being the first in the room, I’d say the odds were significantly in your favor.”

“If you can’t pay me then just say so.” Chris chuckled.

Ezra threw him a glare, “I do not squander my earnings by guzzling copious amounts of alcohol like you.”

“Fine, we don’t have to use money then. How about kills?”

“You mean for me to sacrifice my privileges for a month? You must think me mad!”

“We get two now for saving the director. That means you have an extra one.”

“It’s not over. The report said there were more than just the one.”

“In three months, whoever gets the most kills from these serial killers.”

“Deal.”


	15. Incoming Target

Vin was waiting for information on what was going on when a jeep drove up to the building. He used his scope to see the driver. It was a man, who opened the backseat and pulled out some grocery bags.

            “Well shit.” He murmured before focusing again.

            Then he remembered that the others were in there. The guy probably didn’t like trespassers even if he wasn’t involved in all of this. The likelihood was slim. Vin cursed as he waited too late and the man had already made it inside the building. There wasn’t any way he hit him from inside without making a mistake or possibly killing one of the others.

Grabbing his case, Vin climbed down from his perch quickly and landed firmly on his feet when he made the final jump. He took off in the direction of the house in a full sprint. His rifle was still in his hands and gripped it tighter.

Remembering the man could come out at any time and possibly be armed, Vin slowed down and stayed near the tree line. Without losing his grip on his weapon, Vin dug into his pocket and called up Josiah.

“Hey. I think it’s time you boys head on up. Keep your eyes open.”

“We saw a jeep head up your way.” Josiah’s deep voice came over the phone.

“Yeah, I’m on him right now. He just went into the house. I’ll see if I can get ahold of the others. We’ll be needing Nathan to be wiping evidence soon.”

“Okay, we’re coming now.”

Vin ended the call and sent a quick text to Chris, hoping he would receive it in time.

**Man heading your way. Be on the lookout.**

 

Sal frowned when he saw that the table had been pushed aside along with the rug. He quietly set the grocery bags down and pulled the gun he had in the back of his pants. Closing the front door and locking it, he went back to the tunnel and dropped inside. If someone was here, they were soon going to be dead. If they had harmed his wife, they would suffer a slow and painful death.

 

 

Ezra and Chris kept talking to one another, mostly Ezra talking both sides with Chris throwing in the occasional few words.

Something ahead had made Chris stop moving and he frowned.

“Is something the matter?” Ezra asked, turning to look at him.

Chris squinted into the dark and barely made out the shape of a man standing near the exit of the tunnel. Instinct kicked in and he grabbed Ezra by the collar of his jacket and pulled him behind him.

“Ezra get down!” he didn’t see that the man already had his gun aimed at them. The flash of light as the gun was fired was soon followed by a grunt as Chris was hit.

The person didn’t get a second shot off before Chris was able to lift his gun up and shot in the dark. There was a cry of pain to answer that he had hit the man, but Chris was using his non-dominant hand and he was sure he didn’t do a kill-shot.

Hissing, Chris tried to stand back up. Ezra was pinned under him after collapsing on top of him.

Ezra took the gun from Chris and tried to find the man who had shot at them, but it was empty and they were alone. Sighing in frustration, Ezra went back to Chris.

“I swear you like to get injured just to keep things interesting.”

“Need to go after him.”

“I’m sure Vin can handle him.”

“Then how did he slip past him in the first place?”

 

 

Vin saw the man burst out of the house, clutching his side which was bleeding. In the other hand, he had a gun. The man came to a staggered stop when he saw Vin standing there waiting for him. Tanner didn’t even wait before shooting the man several times before he could fall down. Each of the bullets hit him square in the chest or between his eyes.

Vin rested his rifle on his shoulder, looking at the dead man in contempt. The sound of an approaching car had him look up to see Josiah’s blue Toyota pull up.

Nathan and Josiah were the first ones out the door, followed by JD. Nathan carried his bag on his shoulder and approached Vin.

“That the guy who just came up here in the jeep?”

“Not anymore,” Vin said coldly. “His gun was recently fired, best go in and look for the others. No need to waste looking over this scum.”

The group moved past the dead body, JD going slower, looking at the blood, slowly pulling around the corpse.

 

Ezra heard voices in the tunnel and saw a light.

“Ah, good Doctor, your timing as always is splendid,” Ezra said, moving as best as he could to get out of the way so Nathan could see to Chris.

“What happened?”

“Well, our lack of visibility leaves much to question. However, Chris heard something. Pushed me out of the way before taking a bullet. He was able to shoot whoever it was, but we don’t believe it was fatal.”

“I got him when he ran out of the house.” Vin nodded. “Came up in his jeep with groceries. Should’ve shot him right then.”

“You couldn’t determine if he was innocent or not. It was better to be safe—” said JD.

“Safe? You call Chris taking a bullet that should never have happened? What if it wasn’t his shoulder but his head, his neck, a lung pierced!” Vin growled.

“Enough Vin. We get the idea.” Josiah said calmly. “Ezra, help Nathan carry Chris out of here. You know the way.”

Ezra nodded and the two took an arm and slung it over their shoulders. They had to walk sideways to move. Josiah had to climb out first to help lift Chris out. Chris let out a growl as his injured shoulder was jostled too much. When they set him back down and the others climbed out, Nathan began to assess the damage.

“I’ll be fine, Nathan. Go look at the other guy. He’s in a cellar under the garage.” Chris grunted as he tried to sit up.

“The hell you are.” Nathan grumbled, “Don’t go bleeding on the floors and make a bigger mess for me to clean up. Wood is hard to get blood out of as it is.”

Nathan was led by Ezra to where Buck was at, still with the director.


	16. On Road to Recovery

Buck looked up when he saw Nathan and Ezra enter the room.

“Hey. Did you get lost on the way?”

“Chris was shot,” Nathan explained. Buck’s eyes grew bigger and he opened his mouth to start bombarding Nathan with questions. The doctor held up his hand, “He’s going to be fine. I’ll secure the director and then go back and check in on him. He insisted I come here first.”

Buck nodded and stepped aside so Nathan could examine the man.

Travis opened his eyes, they were still pretty heavy, but he was beginning to be able to see more clearly.

“Who are you people?” he asked in a low voice.

“Just a helping hand.” Nathan smiled, “Got yourself in some nasty piece of business.”

“I think I shall run over everything that needs to be wiped down by our companions,” Ezra said before dismissing himself.

“You aren’t police or FBI.” Travis slurred. It was a statement and not a question.

“How did you find me?”

“We’re the experts.” Buck smiled down at the man. “Who we’re are associated with is not important.”

Travis then allowed himself to fall asleep and Nathan saw to cleaning his wounds around his wrist and the ones on his ankles. He finished bandaging it up and then cleaned the head wound where it was mostly dried blood.

They transported him to Josiah’s car after JD found a route for him to take to get to the house.

Ezra sat outside with Chris and Vin. He had been trying to get rid of the bullet, but Chris kept on swatting him away. They sat in a quiet demeanor as they watched the director being loaded into the Toyota.

Buck turned to them and let out a relieved sigh, “Glad you aren’t dead yet, Chris.”

“Ezra would’ve been dead if I hadn’t moved him. I was never in harm’s way.”

“Don’t make yourself out to be a hero.” Ezra frowned, “A simple warning would’ve sufficed. There was no need for you to jump in front of a bullet.”

“If you weren’t talking so loud then he wouldn’t have heard us coming.”

“What now?” interrupted Vin. Wishing to continue.

“I’ll have Nathan see to Chris and Josiah will take Travis to the hospital. Nathan can finish cleaning up here by the time Josiah gets back, we’ll be ready to head out.

Everyone nodded and set to work.

 

The bodies of the serial killers were left where they died, untouched. While the rest of the place was swept clean of their presence. None of Chris’s blood was left to find. Not even in the tunnel. Ezra’s prints on the rug and table were also removed and the footprints they all made were swept away.

JD did an anonymous call to the police that there was a kidnapping and that the kidnappers were at that location. He left out the part that they were dead and who they were. They couldn’t do the police’s entire job.

Buck drove Chris’s car while he sat in the back. The three vehicles went out together and made it to Vin’s place where they got in their individual cars and drove home.

Another mission completed and a victim saved.

 

 

Travis woke up in the hospital and found his wife sitting beside the hospital bed he was lying in. She squeezed his hand a little tighter when she saw his eyes open.

“I’m so glad you are alright.”

“How did I get here?”

“A man dropped you off. Said you had been drugged and that he had found you lying in the middle of a forest. Honey, what happened?”

            “I was kidnapped.” Orrin frowned and pushed himself up so that he could prop himself up by the headboard.  “On my way home, there was an accident and I got out of the car. I was hit with a Taser and was held up somewhere.”

“Oh my goodness.” Evie got up and hugged her husband. Orrin returned it and a knock on the door was probably what had them finally pull apart.

It was the FBI director, Henry Garber.

“It’s good to see that you’re alright. The police were just notified from an anonymous caller that there was a kidnapping. We had no idea it was you. Men are on their way to arrest the culprits.”

“They’re already dead.”

“What?”

Both Henry and Evie looked at Orrin in surprise.

“They were killed.”

“You killed them?”

“No. These men showed up out of nowhere, just when I was probably about to die. They shot the one trying to kill me and the other, I only heard how he died.”

“Who were these people who saved you?” Henry pressed.

“I don’t know. I only caught onto one of their first names. One was a doctor I think.”

“Think you can describe them to a sketch artist?”

“’fraid I won’t be of much use there. I was knocked up pretty bad. My vision was blurry when they rescued me.”

Henry nodded. His phone rang and he answered it. There was a long pause where Travis listened to the one-side of the conversation before the man hung up.

“It seems bullet wounds matching our assassin and hitman were both at the scene. Two people were found dead. A man and a woman.”

“The man’s name was Sal or something. That’s what she called him.” Travis said hoarsely.

“They your kidnappers?”

“Yeah, and cannibals. She said she was planning on making me into a roast.”

“Damn. We sure do get the crazy ones. What happened to this place?” Henry shook his head. “I’ll have some police stationed outside your door just in case. Get better soon, Orrin.”

“Thank you, Henry.”

“Weren’t the people, those serial killers you were looking for, the ones that you called Assassin and Hitman?” asked Evie.

“Yeah, and it looks like they saved my life.”

“Why though?”

“As far as I could tell, they only go after the bad guys.”

“But how could they know about your kidnapping before the police? They didn’t start taking me seriously until a couple hours ago.”

“It appears they have resources that even the government doesn’t have. That and they have someone on their side who is good with a computer. I’m going to find them, Evie. I will find them and bring them in.”


	17. Scheduled Meeting

“I still do not see the benefit of rescuing that chief director of the ATF. Now saving a wealthy man, they would feel inclined to provide some monetary reward which I, for one, would not turn down.” Ezra drawled as he discarded two cards from his hand.

“I’m sure Buck had his reasons.” Vin murmured as he had to discard three cards. His hand wasn’t doing too good.

“No one benefits from ignorance except the withholder.”

“If it bothers you so much, why don’t you just ask him?”

“He’s in a meeting currently. Talking with Josiah and Nathan.”

“What about?”

Ezra rose an eyebrow and looked at his compatriot as if he were serious. “I did not ask because I was not invited to know the topic of their discussion. That, and I am not in a habit of eavesdropping, for it is poor manners.”

“Says the man who would split a guy open from the navel to his chops.” Chris snorted as he walked into the dining area with a couple of beers in hand. He opened one of them and began to down it.

“A Macbeth reference. I’m impressed.”

“Who’s she?” Vin asked with a frown. The others couldn’t tell if he were serious or not. They knew that Vin had dropped out of school around high school, but wasn't sure how much he knew in a sense of education. The sharpshooter then grinned, “Just kidding. One of the more exciting books I read freshman year.”

“And we now see the early development of Vin’s turn to violence.”

The three men laughed and Ezra threw down a winning hand, putting Vin out of his misery.

 

 

“We are taking a huge risk by doing this,” Nathan said, leaning back in his chair.

“I know, but we can’t continue to do this without the possibility of being caught. We’ve been lucky so far, but what happens when that runs out.” Buck said pointedly.

“We’d deal with it when it happens.”

“Chris, Vin, and Ezra would no doubt get the death penalty. I don’t know what they’d do with us, but no less than life in prison. I’m trying to find an alternative where we can work the system. That’s why we’ve been having them target the bad guys. This way, it shows that they can help.”

“The government doesn’t want assassins and hitmen. Hell, Ezra’s torturing thing wouldn’t be legal in anywhere but probably Russia.”

“They can adapt. I’ve seen them do it before.”

Nathan sighed and looked to Josiah, “What do you think? Do you think they are capable of going cold-turkey and not kill somebody?”

Josiah carded his fingers through his hair and thought about it. “The boys pretend most of the time that they do not care, that they have no interest in anything. However, I’ve seen on occasion where that is not true.”

“Yeah, I think they care about each other on some level. Possibly physical.” Buck shrugged.

“Maybe, but it’s the little things. Helping one another, but hasn’t badgered them about some form of payback, finding each other all the time. Some of their conversations, they joke about one of them caring about the other.”

“So, you’re saying that our two sociopaths and psychopath can potentially be normal if we try to change them?” asked Nathan in wonder.

“Well no. Doing anything to drastically change what they are doing could tilt the balance. Right now, Buck has a nice semblance of power. While they won’t say anything, they might do extra kill, however, they won’t come after Buck. That line where our safety is not in question could be if we push what we want on them. Taking their power, which of course they like, would have them lash out in a way we might not be able to control.”

“So, the government might not want them, and they’d probably kill us if they aren’t allowed to kill. Then our good serial killers would go bad.” Nathan sighed, “I liked it better when I didn’t have to question my job.”

“I will keep everyone out of it, especially you two and JD. If this goes bad, I want you guys to not have to take the fall for any of this.” Buck said stiffly.

“You don’t need to take the fall for all of us.” Nathan frowned, “I know what I did and I ain’t going to let you take the punishment for it. Besides, who’d believe it was just you?”

“I’m sure things will not turn out as badly as you think it will.” Josiah smiled.

 

 

Travis was sitting at his desk, finishing up the last report he had to read over before going home for the night. Most of the staff and agents were gone already. The silence reminded him of the room he had been imprisoned in when he was kidnapped, and he wondered if he should turn on the radio and listen to some music.

The ringing of his phone saved him from doing so and he answered it without even looking at the caller ID.

“Travis.” He said firmly, still looking at the report.

“Hello again, chief director.” Came the cheerful voice on the other end.

Travis frowned, trying to remember where he had heard it from.

“Who is this?”

“I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the people who saved your life a few days back.”

Orrin set the report aside and sat up straighter in his chair, “How did you get this number?”

“Everything is easy to find as long as you know where to look. How else do you think we found you and your kidnappers?”

“What do you want?”

“To talk.”

“Okay then, talk.”

“Not over the phone. It’s too informal. Let’s meet say, noon tomorrow at Fiddley’s Park.”

“How will I find you?”

“You were kind of out of it so I guess you don’t remember my face. No worries, I’ll find you. I hope I don’t have to tell you that you have to come alone. It’s so cliché.”

“I’ll come alone.”

“Great! You should go home and rest. You don’t look like you’ve recovered fully.”

Travis’s eyes widen in surprise and he looked around for some kind of camera or someone hiding around the corner. There wasn’t and he frowned and looked back at the report that had been thrown over his keyboard of his computer. He looked up and noticed the camera on the top part of the screen.

_Had they hacked his camera on his computer?_

Whoever these people were, they were good. He figured there wasn’t going to be any point in trying to find the person from the hack. Especially since it seemed he’d be meeting him or them tomorrow.

_Was that wise to say he’d go alone?_

He’d have to find that out tomorrow at Fiddley’s Park.


	18. Tough Decisions

Travis was sitting on a park bench a couple minutes past noon. He wondered if he’d be able to recognize the person he was meeting. There were a lot of people in the park today. He watched two people in a game of catch with a football and a group of three of were playing soccer. One man was lying on a blanket and a book beside him. A pair of shades were on as it looked like he was taking a nap.

It all looked so appealing than the idea of going back into an air-conditioned office with harsh fluorescent lights and paperwork.

“I’m glad you accepted my invitation.” Came a voice behind him.

Travis contained the urge to reach for his gun. He watched as a tall man with a mustache and thick black hair came up and sat next to him on the bench as if they weren’t complete strangers.

“I seem to be at a disadvantage, seeing how you know my name and I don’t know yours,” Travis said, looking the man over.

“Buchanan Wilmington. My friends just call me Buck.” The man gave a friendly smile.

“And why is it that you want to meet me, Buck?”

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, you’re looking for me, or should I say the people under me.”

“You’re the leader of the Hitman, Serial Killer and Assassin?”

“Is that what you call the boys?” Buck chuckled. “No, I’m not. I only see that they don’t get out of hand. I also had them rescue you.”

“Sorry if I don’t thank killers.”

“No, it’s understandable. We never receive any ‘thanks’ or money for what we do. Why should we? We take lives.”

“So why do it?”

“To help my friends.” Buck said sternly, “I know who and what they are, but I’m trying to keep them on a safer path.”

“There’s nothing safe about your friends being serial killers even if they kill the bad guys.”

“Figured you’d say that.”

“Then why come?”

“Like I said, I had them save you. Meaning that we wanted you alive.”

“Because you think I’m going to help you.”

“No, because you are the one to most likely want us.”

“Is that so?”

“Your men have been having a hard time finding evidence and then convictions to put away drug dealers. We have the means to find them, and gathering enough for that.”

“You’re killers. Killing your targets.”

“A hundred percent of the time, yes. However, you and the other departments are playing in a new pool where walking over your dead body won’t so much as making them flinch.”

“And your request, Mr. Wilmington?” Travis finally asked.

Buck turned on the bench to completely face the older man, “Hire us and use us however you see fit. As bodyguards, interrogators, computer intelligence, forensics, bounty hunters. Just keep my friends from going to death row.”

“’You must be joking!” Orrin laughed.

“This time they came after you. What if they came after your wife or your children and grandchildren?” Buck said seriously. “Give us a chance.”

Travis looked out to the park and noticed that the game of football and soccer had been paused, and the sleeping figure was now propped on one elbow looking towards them.

“It seems your friends are all here,” Travis said, looking at each of the men.

“Whatever decision you make, we’re in this together, though some of them will probably not let you take the rest of us.”

“I’ll think it over.” Travis nodded before standing up. “How shall I contact you?”

“We’ll be in contact in four days.”

“Try not to kill anyone in that time.”

Buck watched the man make his way back to where his car was parked and turned to the others. JD jogged over to him, followed slowly by the others.

“What did he say?”

“Said he’d think it over.”

“So, not a complete ‘no’. I’m surprised he even let you make your pitch.” Nathan reflected.

“What can I say, I’m good at persuading people.” Buck grinned with confidence.

“Why don’t you save that talk till after he agrees.”

“Always the serious one.”

“What’s next?” Chris asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Vin was juggling the soccer ball while listening to the conversation but stilled the ball when he heard Chris’s question.

“The three of you will stay out of trouble. No killing.”

“How did we go from being allowed to kill two people to being on restriction again?” Ezra complained.

“It’s only for four days. If his answer is unfavorable, we may be met with plenty of people coming after us. Then you can break as many femurs as you desire.”

“But not kill still?”

“Stick to the sleazy men and drug dealers. There is plenty of them for you to go around.”

“We also have the rest of those serial killers.” Vin pointed out, a sly grin on his face. “I’d like to have another go with one of them.”

“Yes, I still haven’t killed one yet.” Ezra smiled.

 

 

Orrin made it back to the office with only a few minutes left to eat his lunch. Truthfully, he didn’t have the stomach for it. After searching for the serial killers for weeks, they came to him. They were even able to surpass the original shock of hearing from them by their request. The man honestly didn’t think he would agree with his terms, did he?

Protecting killers. Hiring criminals to work under him. It was a quick way to get yourself sacked. But why was he thinking about it still? It should’ve been an easy ‘no’ and then send some men after their asses. All Orrin could do though was remember the little he could about the men when they rescued him and then the information the FBI and the ATF had gathered on them.

 _They would make a great resource._ Orrin shook his head. _What the hell am I thinking? They are insane and probably as feral as cats! Useful cats though. Ones who could get a lot done. They would have to be monitored at all times._

Just thinking about controlling those men gave Orrin a headache.

A knock at his door made him finally shake the thoughts away and he called for the person to come in. It was Henry.

“I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“And I wasn’t expecting you to be back in the office so soon. Thought you’d take the opportunity to stay home and rest.”

“Crime ain’t gonna stop just because I take a break.” Travis chuckled as he gestured for the other man to have a seat. “What brings you by?”

“I gotta ask again, just because last time there were too many ears. Did you really not catch any of their faces when they found you?”

“Like I said, I was pretty out of it with the drugs.” Travis mulled over if he should tell his friend the rest. After looking at the man across from him for a moment he gave in, “However, they made contact with me.”

“When?” Henry leaned forward in his seat with interest.

“Yesterday. They wanted to meet.”

“What day?”

“About twenty minutes ago.”

Henry sat back in his seat and frowned, not understanding, “And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“No, because I’d be foolish to. They know what I look like. I haven’t a clue about them. They could’ve shot me if I deviated and be long gone before anyone arrived.”

The director sighed, “So you talked with them. What did they say? What did they want?”

“Help.” At Henry’s surprised look and him about to argue, Travis clarified. “They’re  looking for a way out of what they are doing without it leading to a lethal injection.”

“Like that’s going to happen.” Henry snorted.

“Henry, these men. They may be killers, but they aren’t like the rest. While I admit that vigilantes piss me off like everyone else. They could be used in other ways. They have intelligence, contacts, skills that not even our best men can come close to. We don’t have to use all of their _unique_ skills, only those that can help us catch the big fish.”

“You must’ve been hit on the head pretty hard if you’re considering this.”

“They also told me that this is only the beginning. That the bad we’re seeing right now is only going to get worse before it gets better. I’ve seen it, Henry. Those people who kidnapped me, the serial killer and his cannibal wife. She’s from a whole family of cannibals. They’re out there, and we have to find them. That’s the only thing I know so far, but these vigilantes, have probably already picked up on their trail by now.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s bothering you, Orrin. What else did he say?”

“This time they went after me. Next time it could be my wife. My daughter-in-law. My grandchild.”

“These bastards threatened you?”

“Not them. They were talking about the others out there.”

“So you’ve already made your decision then.”

“I don’t know.”

“Course you do, and Orrin, I can’t officially say that I agree with you, but I'll be damn sure you know what you’re getting into. None of those victims ever appear from theirs unless they want it to.”


	19. Lethal Weapons

Orrin wasn’t really sure he’d ever been able to live to regret his decision, but it was too late. He took a deep breath and opened the door to his parked Subaru and made his way to the run-down looking apartment complex. The anonymous text he received said that he was to go to the third floor, apartment 3E.

As he ascended the creaky staircase, he could detect the pungent smell of alcohol and tobacco. The walls were discolored and peeling in some places. He reached the door and knocked three times. There was a pause before a young man opened the door with a warm smile and bright eyes.

“Welcome.”

Orrin wasn’t sure what to think or say so he just nodded and stepped into the room as the young man made way at the entrance. Inside, he found that the room’s occupants were all staring at him intently. The eyes of three of them especially looked at him as if they were calculating something unpleasant in their heads.

 Travis quickly found Buck and the man stood up and crossed the room to shake his hand.

“Pardon their rudeness, we don’t have strangers join us.”

“I see.”

Buck introduced everyone and explained a little of what they did for the team. Travis was amazed to learn that John or JD Dunne, was the tech expert. However, after a few minutes listening to him, it kind of made sense. He personally seemed to be polar-opposite to the man in black whose name was Chris Larabee. The Hitman. The guy never spoke much, but he did recognize his voice from the rescue. The other silent man in the room was Vin Tanner, the Assassin or Bounty Hunter. Though he looked young like JD, there was an old soul about him. Someone who’s obviously seen a lot of shit. Next was Nathan Jackson, the man Travis had to thank for making his job hard to find any evidence. By the way, he interacted with some of the others, it was a wonder he stayed along. But then, he figured it was probably that unspoken adrenaline seeker that the rest of them seemed to have. Josiah was the oldest and was like a shrink to them all. They no doubt need that. The man had also seemed to be analyzing him, just like everyone else. Ezra was everything pleasant and made conversation with their guest that Travis was completely taken aback by learning he was the serial killer or the Interrogator as the others seemed to refer to him as.

“So not to cause any offense—”

“Just say whatever you like, chief director, you're safe here.” Smiled JD.

Though Orrin wanted to believe in those words, he stole a glance at the trio who hadn’t taken their eyes off him yet.

“Wouldn’t it be better to seek medical attention?”

“We already know what we are,” Chris said in a low growl.

“Two sociopaths and one psychopath.” Ezra grinned, but not completely void of hostility. “At your service.”

“What you are asking for, it’s insane. I’d be risking my career.”

“Thankfully, almost half of us are not sane, so that won’t be a problem.” Nathan snorted.

“Technically, none of us are completely sane.” Josiah corrected.

“And you’d be risking more than your career if you don’t agree. Your family’s lives, whether you like it or not, are targets now.” Vin spoke up for the first time.

Travis looked around the room at the different people. He doubted he’d live to regret this.

“Alright, I’ll sign you on. However, you’ll answer to me and all hits will have to be cleared. We will have to do things by the books.”

“We ain’t agents.” Vin frowned.

“No, but if you want this deal like I think you might, you’ll listen.”

“Just tell us what you want us to do and we’ll do it, director,” Buck said quickly before Vin or any of the others could protest again.

“Do you have any valuable information that I can use?”

“Like what?” JD spoke up, “Everything we have is valuable where your information and knowledge is concerned.”

“Any on the relatives of the woman kidnapper?”

“The one who took you? We weren’t looking at them, why?”

“It seems her whole family are cannibals.”

“Sick,” Buck muttered in disgust.

“I can pull up any information pertaining them in five hours.” JD nodded.

“JD also has info on there being a serial killing organization, or at least a group working together like us.”

“That’s disturbing.”

“Luckily they don’t have our skills.” JD smiled confidently.

“No, they’re planning on using their brutish and twisted behavior to work,” Chris explained.

“I don’t see how that is any different than the three of you.” Nathan rose an eyebrow at the three men in question.

“No worries, director. We’ll have what you need by tomorrow.” Josiah smiled at the man.

Travis nodded and decided he would take his leave. After sitting with them for that short amount of time he was tired and in need of a hot shower.

 

 

“Vin, you’ll have the first watch. Make sure no one will be following the director. Keep your distance as always.” Buck ordered.

Vin nodded and grabbed his gear bag which contained his sniper’s rifle and then his bike helmet.

“I’ll get to work on creating the new files,” JD said quickly, bouncing from his seat and grabbing his laptop.

“Shall the rest of us take the day off? It is the day of rest, is it not, Josiah?”

“Fine. Just stay out of trouble and keep your phones on.”

Ezra gave a cocky smile as he got up and straightened his suit before heading to the door. Chris, Nathan, and Josiah followed him out.

“You fine working here a little more?” Buck turned to JD.

“Rented out space for the night, might as well.”

“Well, I think I will rest my eyes while you work.”

He stretched out his long limbs and closed his eyes. Hopefully, everything would work out fine.


	20. Epilogue

“You seriously did it,” Henry asked Orrin over coffee.

“I did.”

“So what happens next?”

“They gave me a list of names of the relatives that were related to eh cannibal woman who kidnapped me. Have them doing surveillance. If they so much as look at someone wrong, they’re finished.”

“Your black squad task force or the cannibals?”

“Both I guess.” Travis sighed, “Though I doubt those men would do anything that wasn’t warranted.”

“But they aren’t the law and they don’t decide who lives and who dies.”

“I know Henry, that’s why I’d like to think of them as for where the law leaves off.”

“You’re willing to bet your career on these men?”

“You said you wanted to use them too. We’re in this together, old friend.”

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you to all who have read my story. I enjoyed writing this strange universe and hope to explore it later. Hopefully, next year if I have the time to complete the following sequels. It all depends on demands I guess of which universe people want me to concentrate on. But I'd love to hear your opinions on this one.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So I hoped you enjoyed the first part. Introducing the characters in their new environment a little. Tell me what you think. My friend's dad is my beta and he was completely shocked at the death count lol.


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